Innovation & Investment

IIC members discuss sustainable investment models, public private partnerships, progress with broadband plans and multi-sector, intelligent coordination. Debate continues around the best way to incentivise innovation and investment whilst delivering audience protection and plurality in a world where converged communications are changing the rules.

The US is losing ground as the internet’s standard-bearer in the face of aggressive European privacy standards and China’s draconian vision for a tightly controlled web, reports Politico. “The weakening of the American position comes after years of US lawmakers and presidents, including both Donald Trump and Barack Obama, backing the tech industry’s aversion to new regulations.

Algeria’s telecoms regulator has changed its name from the Authority for Regulation of Post and Telecoms (Autorite de Regulation de la Poste et des Telecoms, ARPT) to the Authority for Regulation of Post and Electronic Communications (Autorite de Regulation de la Poste et des Communications Electroniques, ARPCE).

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published the final report of its communications sector market study, which includes 28 recommendations and actions on competition and consumer issues.

Balancing investment predictability, competition and consumer choice to get every European digital. This talk took place on Tuesday 17th March 2015 as part of the IIC Telecommunications & Media Forum in Brussels.

Spooked by Netflix’s growing popularity among African viewers, the continent’s largest television operator wants the disruptor to be regulated, reports Quartz Africa. “This call for regulation is a common call from established monopolies who find their grip on a local market challenged by a tech disruptor, and MultiChoice is no different.

Former chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Keith Mitchell, says Caricom is soon to launch a multistakeholder partnership to fast-track specific elements of the “single ICT space”, notes the Jamaica Observer.

More InterMedia articles on Innovation & Investment

As more people, especially the less well off, have only a smartphone to accessthe internet, there are signs that a new type of digital divide could develop.Ofcom’s Alison Preston describes new research carried out in the UK

How can network operators and service providers settle value for their wares in a converged world, where services are network agnostic? sumit sharma presents a bargaining framework that could unite all players in a ‘game’April 2016, Volume 44 Issue 01

As the OECD prepares for a ministerial meeting on the digital economy, Jørgen Abild Andersen argues that the highest level of coordination among many government departments is needed to deliver its aims

As regulators start to fundamentally review their remits, Chris Chapman, the incoming president of the IIC and chair of Australia’s ACMA, details the extent of digital disruption and possible regulatory response, in this two-part article.January 2016, Volume 43 Issue 04

More than 10 years ago, as the move to digital took off, there was much debate about using a layered regulatory model to mirror the new world. Now, write IVOR KING and DEREK WILDING, it’s making a comeback in Australia. But does it have merit?

To get the broadband infrastructure and consumer benefit that are needed, regulators have to abandon the short-term thinking that can stifle new entrants and investment, argue RICHARD CADMAN, JONATHAN KINGAN and GITA SORENSEN

Should we be striving for the ‘level playing field’ with regulation of innovative, next-generation communications? Brian Williamson makes a strong case for setting them free.October 2016, Volume 44 Issue 03

The modern sharing economy is small but growing - and enabled by the internet. John Ure discusses its possible impact and where regulation may be heading, with particular reference to Asia.March 2015, Volume 43 Issue 01

In part two of his discussion of the ‘myth of 5G’, WILLIAM WEBB examines regulatory factors, spectrum issues and whether fixed-wireless access will be more than a promise - plus scenarios for the next few years

Can broadcasting make the step into an increasingly mobile world? Roland Beutler discusses technology and business models in the context of public service remits, mobile network operators and the new world of 5G.October 2016, Volume 44 Issue 03

Connected and autonomous vehicles will be leading users of the internet of things and 5G technologies. But almost all of today’s societal and regulatory issues will converge on road transport, as Julian McGougan reports.

Telecoms operators have missed the platforms boat but hope to regain ground with network virtualisation. RICHARD FEASEY discusses the technology and regulatory implications of a powerful but potentially double-edged movement.

Stuart Brotman puts forward an index that captures the ‘vitality’ of broadband internet ecosystems in five countries, and which could be a benchmarking model.June 2015, Volume 43 Issue 02

Old Rules, New Realities

How are policy makers and industry approaching the challenge of getting the critical components right: the spectrum policy, the capital investment policy and fiscal policies needed to foster innovation in the new, converging ecosystem? Read

Regulatory Watch articles on Innovation & Investment

Spooked by Netflix’s growing popularity among African viewers, the continent’s largest television operator wants the disruptor to be regulated, reports Quartz Africa. “This call for regulation is a common call from established monopolies who find their grip on a local market challenged by a tech disruptor, and MultiChoice is no different.

The US is losing ground as the internet’s standard-bearer in the face of aggressive European privacy standards and China’s draconian vision for a tightly controlled web, reports Politico. “The weakening of the American position comes after years of US lawmakers and presidents, including both Donald Trump and Barack Obama, backing the tech industry’s aversion to new regulations.

Algeria’s telecoms regulator has changed its name from the Authority for Regulation of Post and Telecoms (Autorite de Regulation de la Poste et des Telecoms, ARPT) to the Authority for Regulation of Post and Electronic Communications (Autorite de Regulation de la Poste et des Communications Electroniques, ARPCE).

Microsoft’s president, Brad Smith, has called for regulation of facial recognition software in the US, reports VentureBeat. “In a democratic republic, there is no substitute for decision making by our elected representatives regarding the issues that require the balancing of public safety with the essence of our democratic freedoms.

Former chairman of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Keith Mitchell, says Caricom is soon to launch a multistakeholder partnership to fast-track specific elements of the “single ICT space”, notes the Jamaica Observer.

The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) has reduced local mobile data and internet charges after concluding a cost modelling exercise for telecommunication network services in the country covering mobile, fixed and internet access networks, reports AllAfrica.

On the heels of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Europe is gearing up for its next big privacy push, this time taking aim at data collection within messaging apps. But critics contend the proposed law goes too far, potentially stifling innovation and hurting profits, according to an article in OWI Insight.

UK regulator, Ofcom, has issued two documents of wider interest. The first is an assessment of competition in wholesale broadband access markets, under which services in these markets are bought by telecoms providers to supply retail broadband services to residential and business consumers.

EU negotiators have sealed an agreement to allow non-personal data to move freely across the bloc and ban national laws that require companies to store data within a country’s borders, reports EurActiv.

Japan Communications says it has received Japan’s first regulatory certification under both the Radio Law and Telecommunications Business Law for an unlicensed LTE (u-LTE) base station – and JCI chairman Frank Seiji Sanda says, “u-LTE is the first step in the obsolescence of legacy mobile operators.”

The European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA) has sent an open letter to the EU to share its concern that the EU’s vision for a connected digital single market “risks being stopped dead in its tracks before it can effectively take off”.

Japan Communications says it has received Japan’s first regulatory certification under both the Radio Law and Telecommunications Business Law for an unlicensed LTE (u-LTE) base station – and JCI chairman Frank Seiji Sanda says, “u-LTE is the first step in the obsolescence of legacy mobile operators.”

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published the final report of its communications sector market study, which includes 28 recommendations and actions on competition and consumer issues.

The European Commission is proposing “a three-pronged approach to increase public and private investment in artificial intelligence (AI), prepare for socioeconomic changes, and ensure an appropriate ethical and legal framework.”

The design of the UK's new universal service obligation (USO) for broadband has been specified in law, reports Out-Law.com. The UK government said the new USO would “ensure high speed broadband access for the whole of the UK by 2020”.

South Africa’s regulator, ICASA is to hold public hearings to discuss “the review and development of the authority position on historically disadvantaged persons and broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE)”, notes ITWeb.

The government of Togo, in an effort to ensure the provision of universal electronic communications services in the country, has adopted a draft decree that defines the rules applying to such services, notes TeleGeography.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comment on proposed application and bidding procedures for the auctions of the 28 GHz and 24 GHz spectrum bands to promote the development of 5G technology, the internet of things, and other advanced spectrum-based services.

On 25 May the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force for the 28 member states, but the impact is already far wider as the regulation affects any organisation that keeps data on an EU citizen, which includes all the global internet giants.

An item in the law blog, Out-Law.com, notes that EU law makers are scrutinising the issue of metadata processing in the context of new EU laws on privacy and electronic communications (the e-privacy regulation). The Bulgarian presidency of the Council of Ministers has published a document that has highlighted that there are different views across national governments in the EU on the rules that should apply to metadata processing.

High wholesale prices impede competition in the broadband market, so the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) is imposing price caps on fibre local loops provided by the three market leaders in Finland, and regulation on copper local loops will be scaled down.

The OECD says more than 110 countries and jurisdictions have agreed to review two key concepts of the international tax system, responding to a mandate from the G20 finance ministers to work on the implications of digitisation for taxation.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is aiming to develop a framework similar to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to aid the rollout of public Wi-Fi hotspots in the country, notes Live Mint.

The digitisation of the power supply will make it vulnerable due to the increasing risk of error in the software, and not only as a result of cyberattacks, reports Telecom Paper, noting a report by the Dutch Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli).

The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) has highlighted its focus areas for 2018 – with emphasis on a study on 5G, the latest data on international roaming, and a consultation paper on net neutrality.

India has approved relief measures for the telecoms sector, revising limits on spectrum holdings and allowing operators longer to pay for airwaves won at auction, with a view to freeing up funds for investment, improving ease of doing business and allowing for consolidation in the sector, reports TeleGeography.

The GSMA has issued a report, “Effective spectrum pricing in Latin America: policies to support better quality and more affordable mobile services”, highlighting that spectrum policies in Latin America are impacting the delivery of quality mobile services to consumers across the region.

The Tunisian telecom authority INT (Instance Nationale des Telecommunications) has published a summary of its main priorities for 2018, which include a number of new initiatives alongside its ongoing activities in the areas of consumer protection, quality of service, and regulation of wholesale broadband offers, notes Telecompaper.

The European Commission says social media companies need to do more to respond to the requests, made last March by the Commission and member states’ consumer authorities, to comply with EU consumer rules.

Mobile termination rates – the rates operators charge each other to connect calls – dropped by an average of 42% in OECD countries between 2014 and 2017 as a result of increased regulation and competition, according to new data released by the OECD.

Telecoms and law professor Rob Frieden has written about a US National Security Council initiative that identifies the security and public safety benefits in having a government owned 5G wireless network leased by commercial ventures.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the new president of South Africa, included the following in his state of the nation address: “Our prosperity as a nation depends on our ability to take full advantage rapid technological change. This means that we urgently need to develop our capabilities in the areas of science, technology and innovation.

The European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO) has warned that the current negotiations on the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) may “result in a worsened climate for digital growth”...

Experts on the security implications of emerging technologies have written a report that sounds the alarm about the potential malicious use of artificial intelligence (AI) by rogue states, criminals, and terrorists.

The Dutch government says it will come out this year with a strategy to help entrepreneurs and people in the Netherlands to benefit from the digital economy, notes Telecompaper. Secretary of State Mona Keijzer stated in an opinion that digitisation is not only about economics, but also touches on relationships in society, on safety and on accessibility.

TRAI, India’s telecoms regulator, has consulted on a new telecoms policy being formulated by the government to attract $100 billion worth of investment in a sector that's going through consolidation amid intense competition, notes Economic Times.

The US Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2Health Task Force (C2HFCC) has announced that the FCC and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have joined forces, signing a memorandum of understanding that will focus on how increasing broadband access and adoption in rural areas can improve the lives of rural cancer patients.

Bulgaria will focus its attention on speeding up negotiations on the European Communications Code when it takes over the 6 month rotating presidency of the Council of Ministers in January, notes EurActiv.

Despite children’s massive online presence – 1 in 3 internet users worldwide is a child – too little is done to protect them from the perils of the digital world and to increase their access to safe online content, UNICEF said in its annual flagship report.

Germany’s telecoms industry should accelerate the build-out of the country’s high-speed broadband network, its regulator said, adding it was considering easier regulation on fibre internet to speed the process, noted Reuters.

As expected, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has loosened media ownership regulations in the US after a 3-2 vote by its executive which, while an expected development under the Trump administration, has drawn a mixed reaction, notes Rapid TV News.

A fierce debate has gripped Europe’s automobile industry that will shape the future of all cars sold across the region: how to get internet-connected vehicles to “talk” to each other while travelling on the road, reports the Financial Times.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has enacted reforms that it says will better enable providers to invest in next-generation networks. The FCC is also seeking comment on additional reforms, including how the FCC can expedite rebuilding and repairing broadband infrastructure after natural disasters.

Australia's chief scientist, Alan Finkel, has called on governments and businesses across the world to consider developing a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence devices, ranging from the likes of Apple's Siri to weaponised drones, reports the Australian Financial Review.

The OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2017 reports that progress is uneven across countries, businesses and within societies. Broadening access to digital opportunities and helping those lagging behind to catch up would increase the benefits of the digital transformation...

ETNO, the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association, has issued a strong warning about the direction of the European Electronic Communications Code. It says it is “no ordinary legislation. This is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to unlock investment in world-class infrastructure, which is the core of a successful society and economy.

The European Council has granted the Estonian presidency a mandate to begin negotiations with the European Parliament on the new European Electronic Communications Code. “Our future is digital, and these rules are key to creating a gigabit society throughout the EU,” said Urve Palo, Estonia's Minister for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology.

Bolivia's telecommunications regulation authority, ATT, and the ITU have issued a statement confirming that they will work together to promote the goal of ending international roaming charges between countries in the Andean community, reports Telecompaper.

The CEO of Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) company, Bill Morrow, has confirmed what the industry has been saying for years: that the network builder’s economic model is broken and that – under current conditions – it may never turn a profit, report IT News.

A proposal by UK regulator, Ofcom, to force the wholesale network operator, Openreach, into significantly cutting the wholesale price of its 40 Mbps fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) product for internet service providers (ISPs) has “been dealt a blow” after the government warned it would “disincentivise investment” in new “full fibre” (FTTP/H) networks.

The GSMA has brought out a report, “Wholesale open access networks”, which examines the performance of the wholesale open access network (WOAN) model (also known as single wholesale network, SWN) in five markets: Kenya, Mexico, Russia, Rwanda and South Africa.

New Zealand’s Communications Minister Simon Bridges has introduced a bill to update the country’s telecoms act with a focus on increasing regulatory oversight and improving service quality, reports Mobile World Live.

Thailand needs to upgrade the National Broadcasting and Telecom Commission (NBTC) to focus more on coordinating various elements of the digital economy and society, says Rajnesh Singh, director for Asia-Pacific of the Internet Society, as the Nation reports.

A boost in data usage from the use of voice calling apps may mean the long-running debate into their regulation in India may turn out to be a “non-issue”, a source at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) told The Economic Times.